26/10/2021
PRESS RELEASE
Poseidon Med II had a prominent presence at the GreenPort Cruise & Congress in Athens
Poseidon Med II (PM II) marked the successful completion of Day 1 of the GreenPort Cruise & Congress that took place between 20-22 October at the MARRIOT Hotel in Athens. In particular session 4 was dedicated to the EU co-funded programme and included a panel discussion with representatives of 4 key partners of the Action’s consortium, on the wider deployment of LNG as a marine fuel in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The session was led by an experienced moderator, Professor Dimitris Lyridis, who set the scene for an interesting exchange of views, kicked off by the Programme Coordinator who focused on the Action’s merits and followed by interventions from different partners.
Mr Polychroniou, Poseidon Med II Project Manager, Executive Director Strategy & Business Development at DEPA Commercial SA, presented some of the Action’s key achievements, including (1) the establishment of small scale LNG facilities are the Revithoussa LNG terminal, made possible by studies completed in the framework of PM II; (2) the designs for the retrofit of ten conventional ships to run on LNG including detailed designs for five of them, as well as for two new build LNG fueled passenger ferries, including one innovative RO-PAX ferry; (3) the regulatory framework for safe LNG bunkering operations in Greece and the preparation of a Practical Safety Guide for Port Authorities during LNG refueling operations; (4) the financial instruments facilitating the investment side; (5) the design and construction of an innovative LNG barge that will shortly be ready to provide bunkering operations in the North Adriatic Sea.
In conclusion Mr Polychroniou underlined that LNG is the most viable alternative fuel to enable shipping’s transition. It is safe, technologically mature and comes with available infrastructure that could also accommodate blends with other fuel options in the future. Moreover, in its bio and synthetic form it is fully compliant with the goals of a zero-carbon future.
Ms Efstathia Niarchou, Project Manager or Poseidon Med II at DESFA talked about the investments undertaken by DESFA to establish the infrastructure needed to increase access to LNG or compressed gas. She noted that the expansion of its network, especially in remote locations, to promote gas as the optimum interim green fuel constitutes a priority for DESFA. Toward this Ms Niarchou cited the construction of a truck loading station and a jetty to service small scale vessels of capacity between 1,000 to 20,000 m3, operating by the beginning of 2023. Poseidon Med II has prepared studies for both gas infrastructure projects.
Mr Spyrou, Consultant at the Strategic Planning and Marketing Department of Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) stressed that readying for a sustainable future and providing LNG for shipping is of utmost importance for the port. It is embracing its role in LNG bunkering in the Eastern Mediterranean and towards this, it has been actively involved in several EU co-funded projects like Costa, Poseidon Med II and ANDRION LNG Project. In this respect, he mentioned that PPA is establishing a manual with solid port procedures and is embracing.
Dr Kriezis, Neptune Lines Technical Manager brought the perspective of shipowners to the panel. He briefly described how the energy transition has affected their liner service and elaborated the company’s strategy. He also mentioned that as a car carrier operator in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area, Neptune Lines is aware of the challenge faced by car manufacturers, to reduce their greenhouse emissions by 3-4% every year and their obligations to report on their performance.
Mr Kriezis supported LNG as a marine fuel and stated that LNG offers the sector important opportunities to improve their sustainability and noted that 80% of the orderbook for car carriers are switching to LNG as fuel. He also referred to a new design that NEPTUNE LINES has been working on and will bring significant improvements regarding carbon intensity. Dr Kriezis concluded stressing that NEPTUNE LINE’s new fleet will enable the company to navigate safely and sustainably up to 2050. He also underlined three challenges facing shipping, namely the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) the energy taxation Directive and the absence of a life cycle analysis for alternative fuels.
The panel concluded with the intervention of Panos Mitrou, Global Gas Technology Segment Manager at Lloyd’s Register, who agreed with the other speakers that LNG is the only alternative we have for now to navigate towards a zero-emission industry and called for ways on how to make LNG environmentally equivalent to other clean fuel options. By acknowledging that in the clean-fuels context hydrogen represents a “silver bullet” we risk overlooking at how we can make LNG a clean fuel. Carbon capturing, bio-LNG, synthetic LNG, green liquefaction can all be part of the equation. Mr Mitrou called upon all stakeholders to intensify and expedite their efforts in the decarbonisation pathway to 2050; nevertheless, he reminded the audience that the shift to clean shipping will not happen overnight and until this takes place, every molecule counts.
The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Photo captions
- Snapshot from the panel hosted by Poseidon Med II, under the coordination of Professor Lyridis
- View of the PMII and PPA marketing material display
What is Poseidon Med II project?
Poseidon Med II project is a practical roadmap which aims to bring about the wide adoption of LNG as a safe, environmentally efficient and viable alternative fuel for shipping and help the East Mediterranean marine transportation propel towards a low-carbon future. The project, which is co-funded by the European Union, involves three countries Greece, Italy and Cyprus, six European ports (Piraeus, Patras, Lemesos, Venice, Heraklion, Igoumenitsa) as well as the Revithoussa LNG terminal. The project brings together top experts from the marine, energy and financial sectors to design an integrated LNG value chain and establish a well-functioning and sustainable LNG market.
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